Texas Roadhouse earnings missed by $0.05, revenue topped estimates
* World share index heads for worst week since August
* Nikkei bounces 1%, Europe 0.3%, both still down sharply
for week
* Oil and copper prices set for worst month since May
* China Jan PMI at 50 as expected, services stronger
* WHO confident China steps will contain virus
* Amazon surges 11% as sales beat forecasts
* Pound perky on Brexit day
By Marc Jones and Wayne Cole
LONDON/SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - World share markets fought
to regain their footing on Friday as investors clutched at hopes
that China could contain the coronavirus, even as headlines
spoke of more cases and deaths, travel bans, evacuations and
factory shutdowns.
Europe opened 0.3% higher .STOXX .EU following a bounce
in Tokyo, but did little to repair what has been the most
turbulent and costly week for many markets since August.
The World Health Organization on Thursday labelled the virus
a global emergency. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said the
greatest worry was the potential for the virus to infect
countries with weaker health systems, though his praise for
China's response seemed to steady markets. MSCI's broadest index of of world shares .MIWD00000PUS got
back to flat. Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS
extended their fall, however, dropping 0.4%, and appeared set
for their worst weekly loss in a year, of 4.6%. Thursday's 2.3%
dive was the sharpest one-day loss in six months.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 bounced 1%, but was off 2.6% for the
week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI drifted 0.3% lower and has
shed 9% in two weeks. Korea's Kospi .KS11 had its worst week
in 15 months, losing 5.6%.
"The coronavirus is outweighing everything else," said
Francesca Fornasari, head of currency solutions at Insight
Investments.
"We have seen quite a position unwind and ... whatever is
coming out in terms of data is for the period when the virus
hadn't become quite such a big issue."
WALL STREET SET TO SLIP
Wall Street's S&P 500 futures ESc1 turned red again in
Europe, having rebounded as much 0.5% overnight.
It had been supported by surveys showing Chinese
manufacturing activity came in much as expected in January while
services actually firmed, though this was likely before the
virus took full hold. Indeed, reports that some Chinese provinces were asking
companies not to re-start until Feb. 10 after the New Year
holiday suggested activity would take a hard knock this month.
"Some shorts covered after the director gave the WHO's stamp
of approval to China's aggressive containment effort," said
Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at AxiCorp.
"For now, the market's risk lights have shifted from
flickering on red to a steady shade of amber."
Sentiment received a boost when Amazon's AMZN.O sales blew
past forecasts and sent its stock soaring 11% after hours,
adding over $100 billion in market value.
Still, the flow of news on the virus remained bleak with
China's Hubei province reporting deaths from the disease had
risen by 42 to 204 as of the end of Jan. 30. More airlines curtailed flights into and out of China and
companies temporarily closed operations, while Washington told
citizens not to travel to any part of China.
JPMorgan shaved its forecast for global growth by 0.3%
points for this quarter.
"Based on the patterns observed from other epidemics, we
assume that the outbreak will likely run its course over 2-3
months, meaning the hit to activity happens in the current
quarter," JPMorgan analysts said in a note.
"Also in line with historical experience, we expect a full
recovery to follow."
STERLING RISING
Safe-haven bonds were well bid, with yields on U.S. 10-year
Treasuries US10YT=RR down 9 basis points for the week so far
and near four-month lows.
The yield curve between three-month bills and 10-year notes
has inverted twice this week, a bearish economic signal.
In currencies, sterling extended gains after jumping on
Thursday when the Bank of England confounded market expectations
by not getting anywhere near an interest rate cut. GBP/
The pound was last at $1.313898 GBP=D3 , a relatively solid
performance given that Friday is the day the UK officially
leaves the European Union after years of political turmoil.
The dollar took a knock overnight when data showed the U.S.
economy had grown at its slowest annual pace in three years and
personal consumption weakened sharply. Yet it was up a fraction on the yen on Friday at 109.03
JPY= and stronger on the euro at $1.1016 EUR= .
Most of the action this week has been nervous investors
selling emerging currencies for dollars and yen, leaving the
majors little changed against each other. EMRG/FRX
Spot gold was only just up for the week at $1,573.72 per
ounce XAU= , having failed to get much of a safe-haven bid as a
range of other commodities, from copper to soy beans, were
hammered by worries over Chinese demand.
Oil bounced on short covering, after hitting its lowest in
three months as the global spread of the coronavirus threatened
to curb demand for fuel. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 regained 89 cents to $53.03 a barrel,
while Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 83 cents to $59.12.
They are down almost 10% on the month though, despite the
spike at the start of the month caused by the U.S. killing of
Iran's top military commander.
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
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